DFS to take off in Russia: Bollier

OulalaGames CEO Valery Bollier says he is optimistic about the future of DFS in Russia after the amended sports betting bill came into effect on April 1, 2017.

Bollier recently visited Moscow where he spoke at the Betting Trends Forum.

''Local operators are hungry for success,'' said Bollier after the event. ''Their knowledge of our [DFS] sector is impressive, and they are highly open to new trends and new products.''

A new bill, which affects advertising of gambling/gaming activities in Russia, and sports partnerships in particular, offer new opportunities for bookmakers, he says.

Daily Fantasy Sports (and mainly Daily Fantasy Football) should benefit from the Russian FIFA World Cup.

Regarding the legal status of DFS in Russia, Bollier said: ''I asked this question to Mariya Lepshikova, a Russian lawyer with great expertise in the iGaming sector. 'Her answer was highly technical but explained in simple terms: DFS is not considered as sports betting so we do not need a licence to run a DFS game. Nonetheless, local DFS operators will need to adapt the structure of their DFS game so they become what is considered by the civil code of the Russian Federation as a ''public competition.''

Bollier thinks that the Russian operators are increasingly becoming familiar with the concept of DFS and understand the benefits of partnerships with DFS providers: ''This is of course something very positive for Oulala, namely because we are continuing to successfully deploy our DFS network across the world. More generally, this is also great news for the young European DFS sector, because it is widening its development perspectives,” he said.

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